The only thing I would give the benefit of the doubt is, is the severity of the punch. I think he might not want to punch that hard, just create enough space to go by as his speed isn't what it was. He is a midget, when he is swinging his arms, he is going to hit something, that something is normally in the abdominal area to below belt area of a player who is significantly taller than him.
Do you think he intentionally wanted to punch him in the nuts, or his conscious brain wasn't fully in control of his actions in this particular case? Is it his instincts kicking in, or him actively making a decision to "punch" him in that area?
I mean, I think we are pretty much on the same page, then. My theory is also that he was trying to create space, and being low to the ground when he swung out it made below-the-belt contact. Not sure why that reading of the situation should bother people so much.
Because he did it ON PURPOSE and should have been given a FLAGRANT FOUL. It's really not that hard to understand. Seriously, find me ONE other video showing CP3 flinging his arm out like that to begin a drive and I might believe you.
Thanks for the video. Yeah, a flagrant foul in that situation is fair given where the elbow landed. Flagrant 1. If Chris Paul was 4 inches taller then that's just a common NBA move that a lot of NBA players do. It looks to me like he was singularly focused on getting the separation and the shot off, and was careless about where the impact would land on his defender.
Fair enough. But to me, it looks like he thought, "I'll give him a quick whack in the 'nads that the refs probably won't even see, because that's what competitors do."
And they said he can't create separation anymore from defending guards. He's been doing this for a while now. Learn from it and send clemons for a minute to do it right back to him.
It didn't seem intentional, but it should have been reviewed and called a flagrant, as it's a reckless play. I've seen guys get called a flagrant for less.
The only difference between that CP3 play and the kind of **** that Draymond does is that CP3 is a much better basketball player than Draymond could ever dream of being, so he's better at making it SEEM like it might be incidental. Even his postgame excuses seem more plausible than Draymond's.
Flagrant 2 without a doubt and he should get a suspension. If you look at the frame by frame he closes his hand and makes a fist and it's a punch = he swings it up and under into his crotch, not an incidental push off. Why would you make a fist if it's incidental??? If it was a push off he'd have his elbow out and bent and his hand open, not his arm swinging like that with a closed fist.
Without a doubt? Lol no. There's definitely doubt. He didn't aim for his dick. Still flagrant, but flagrant 1. Doesn't matter, still lost. The NBA won't -- and shouldn't -- suspend Paul for it.